Chapter Eleven
Iruka let out a soft whimper as he did his best to ignore the familiar signs of an oncoming migraine. Rubbing his temples for a moment, he covered up his action by then running his fingers through his long hair. As he took a deep breath, he looked around the training ground, his eyes focusing on each student for a moment.
What had possessed him to begin weapons training now? Inwardly groaning at his own stupidity, Iruka wanted nothing more than to go sit down, but knew that if he even tried to do so now, there would be no getting up after plopping down on the ground. No, he would be like an overturned turtle until another adult happened to walk by and help him up. He loved his students, but not even with all their combined efforts was there a chance they could return him to a standing position.
For a moment, he glared down at his round belly. Who would have thought something so small could cause so many problems? Already, Tsunade estimated the baby was a little over four pounds, which was high for seven months, but Iruka could not help but wonder if her calculations were off. He had gained a total of thirty pounds and all of it had to have gone to his middle. The baby had to make up more of that weight than just four pounds!
Instead of sitting down like his aching body was pleading for, Iruka leaned back against a tree, which relieved some of the pressure against his lower back. In response to his change in position, he could feel the baby do a strange little cartwheel. Pressing a hand against his rounded middle, Iruka smiled. The baby was very energetic, especially liking when they were outdoors, though Irkua had to wonder how the little parasite knew such a detail.
Shivering slightly as a breeze of cold air hit him, Iruka ran his hands up and down his arms. Perhaps the better question he should have been asking himself this whole time was what gave him the brilliant idea to start weapons training in the end of November? It was not cold enough to snow, but he could taste that there was a storm coming soon.
"Alright, everyone! Time to go back inside!" Iruka called out to the students scattered around the clearing where they were sparring with each other. Thankfully, Iruka had thought ahead and bought specially dulled kunai this year, knowing he would neither have the strength nor the speed to save his students from injury if they used actual weapons. It was a relief to know that he did not have to watch them as closely as he had to with previous classes. The worst harm they could come by were a few bruises from slipping and falling on the ground.
Iruka waited until he saw the last of the students start moving back towards the academy before heaving himself away from the tree and following them. Since modifying his frame to accommodate the baby, Iruka had quickly grown accustomed to his wider hips and the shift in his center of balance. Even when around just Naruto and Sasuke, he kept the parts of his feminine shape that alleviated the majority of his back pain. He did allow his facial features and his chest to return to normal, but his lower body was now constantly the lower half of a woman – well, as feminine as Iruka was comfortable with. He outright refused to rearrange his eternal genitalia to make his lower body fully female.
Grumbling, Irkua wished that there was a way he could find a doctor who was not so fascinated with his condition that she saw him as a bit of an experiment. Tsunade lately was trying to get him to think of the possibility of going through natural childbirth. The only way she was going to get him to hold a jutsu through something like that was if she knocked him unconscious and did the transformation herself!
At that thought, a sharp jolt of pain hit his diaphragm and Iruka had to stop walking to bend forwards, resting his hands on his thighs as he gasped for breath. The baby's newest habit was to kick him whenever he started to get too stressed out over thoughts of the end of the pregnancy. It was as though he or she knew exactly what Iruka was thinking and, in a strangely comforting way, was telling the teacher to not worry so much. If a seven month old fetus could make its father double over in pain, then he or she was more than strong enough to deal with being born when the time came.
Wincing as he finally regained his breath, Iruka moved to stand back up. If Naruto had been around to witness that particular kick, he would have most certainly made a comment on how the little "Iruka junior" was going to be a great shinobi one day. Thinking of the future as he continued back towards the building, Iruka rested a hand against his protruding belly. Though Naruto's names were lately getting more and more serious, none seemed to fit the small baby whose gender was still unknown.
Though Tsunade begged to do some tests, Iruka refused. He wanted to be surprised, he told everyone, but a part of the teacher did not want to have any tests done out of fear. What if Tsunade found some kind of genetic disease – what if she was able to link something about the baby back to its other father? Iruka was not ready for such possibilities and would rather wait as long as he could before telling anyone who the baby's other father was, if in fact he had to tell them at all.
Iruka could live with the knowledge that Sasuke was the only other person who knew who fathered his child. The Uchiha would never tell a soul, not even his own partner, which relieved Iruka. Naruto was the last person he ever wanted to tell. If his brother knew, Iruka was certain he would break down and tell the blonde the embarrassing truth that had been plaguing him lately.
Though he thought at one time he wanted nothing to do with Kakashi anymore, all he truly wanted now was for the tall man to be there for him. Blinking a few times to rid his eyes of the wateriness coming to them, he finally put his thoughts into words.
He did not want to go through all of this alone.
Oh, he was not lonely – how could he be with Naruto, Sasuke, and the others constantly around him? Everyone who knew about his condition did everything to make him comfortable, doing their best to keep him happy, but it was not enough sometimes. Touching his belly, feeling the baby shift restlessly, Iruka bowed his head. He wanted someone to be there to comfort him when he woke up from one of his nightmares, to reassure him that everything would be alright, and, most of all, to just hold him and listen to his worries and his dreams for their child.
In one word, he wanted Kakashi.
XXX
The rest of the school day went by in a blur. By the time Iruka reached Naruto and Sasuke's apartment, he was exhausted from the range of emotions he had to hide from his amazingly perceptive students. His distress, his depression, but most of all his lonesomeness were what had finally made him end class and send the students home a half hour early.
Letting himself into the apartment he now shared with the couple, Iruka shuffled blindly through the hallway, not having the energy to turn on a light as he went along. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sasuke lying on the couch in the large sitting room. Despite his exhaustion, Iruka had the strength to smile at the image of the aloof man lounging there with a pair of dark-rimmed glasses on, reading a book that judging from its brightly colored cover was one of the dreaded Icha Icha books. Sasuke's need for reading glasses, along with his love of romance novels, was one of his greatest secrets that Iruka only discovered after coming home very early one afternoon and finding himself being confronted by a similar scenario.
"You're home early," Sasuke stated, blinking a few times as he pushed his glasses down the bridge of his nose in order to look across the room at Iruka. Recalling the jounin was on vacation for the remaining two months of Iruka's pregnancy, the teacher did not ask about Sasuke's presence at home in the middle of the afternoon. Once Naruto got home from his latest mission, he too had two months to look forward to with nothing to do except relax and get ready for the baby.
The two young men had demanded the vacation time – going so far as to tell Tsunade they were taking off with or without her permission and they would only start taking missions when they were sure Iruka would be alright without their help. Given her lack of choices, Tsunade just nodded her head and told the men that they owed her big time when they went back to active duty. Iruka had the feeling at least one of them had a good chance of getting a genin team just as problem-ridden as their own was.
"I'm going to go lay down for a while," Iruka said in way of an explanation before smiling in hopes of ridding Sasuke's face of that instant glimmer of concern. "I'm a little tired." The jounin nodded his head, but still studied Iruka for a moment.
"I'll wake you up for dinner," Sasuke replied as he went back to reading his book. Though he could still see that the jounin was not fully convinced he was as 'fine' as he implied, Iruka was glad that Sasuke was the kind of person who would not press him. He knew that the jounin was concentrating on him and not his novel. He could almost feel Sasuke's energy rolling over him, mapping out his chakra pathways, checking his vitals and anything else that would cause serious problems. It was Sasuke's way of easing his worry whereas Naruto would demand answers and explanations.
"Thank you." Iruka was grateful his blond sibling was not around or else he would certainly have to explain why he was so drained. At least with Sasuke, he did not have to outright lie that he was perfectly fine. Sasuke understood that his mood swings were sometimes ones that had little to do with his raging hormones and did not pester him about them.
Continuing to move through the apartment, laboriously waddling up the stairs, Iruka knew he had to be a sight. Shinobi should never have to admit that they waddled, he decided as he finally made it to his bedroom. Too tired to even undress or partially dispel his henge, Iruka just flopped down on his bed. Before his head even hit the pillow, he was unconscious.
XXX
"Michiko!" Sanosuke groaned, his fingers tightening their hold on the dark strands of his wife's hair as he rocked his hips, thrusting into that warm, talented mouth of hers. Feeling his release coming as her tongue ran along the underside of his member, he –
Sasuke looked up from his book, his eyes narrowing as he sensed a change in his quiet apartment. He did not move to close the book or even shift in attempts of getting off the comfortable couch, but it was a change that set him on edge until he recognized the familiar chakra.
Taking a deep breath, he pushed his glasses up higher on his nose. Doing his best to ignore the new presence he could sense upstairs, he went back to his book, but kept part of his attention on the two energy sources overhead.
Sasuke hoped he knew what he was doing.
XXX
Kakashi silently landed on the floor. Turning back around to close the window he had easily opened and swung through, he shook his head. One would think an apartment owned by two elite jounin would have every inch of it booby trapped, but perhaps that would have been overkill when he could sense that one of the two jounin was downstairs and, from the feeling of someone watching him, he knew Sasuke was very much aware of his presence. If the Uchiha really wanted to keep him out, he would have done so.
Instead, it had been almost too easy to gain access. As he slowly stood back up from his crouching position, Kakashi's gaze landed on the person sprawled across the bed. A small smile tugged at his face as his eye raked over the curved figure, one hand thrown over a tanned face and the other resting on the bulge that one would have to be blind not to see.
He crept across the floor without making a sound, not because he did not want anyone to know he was there – Sasuke already knew and it was surprising the protective jounin had not thrown him out yet. He walked with all the silence he could muster because he did not want to wake the teacher up.
He was unsure exactly what possessed him to actually sneak into the bedroom. All he knew was that it was that same reasoning that now fueled his courage as he moved to the side of the bed and, with a gentle touch he had never known himself capable of, began removing the pouches of blades that were still strapped to the sleeping teacher. Once the weapons were gone, he gingerly removed the vest that had no hopes of ever being zippered for the remainder of the pregnancy as well as the polished hitai-ate.
Kakashi could not help himself as he let a finger wrap around a loose lock of chestnut hair. Rubbing the strand between his thumb and index finger, he watched the brunette sleep. That tiredness that had lined her face earlier today was gone, but some of the stress still remained. Loosening his hold on the woman's hair, he let his fingers trail up the side of her tanned face, his knuckles drinking in the feeling of her warm, soft flesh against his own skin.
His hands continued to gingerly touch her, his fingertips ghosting along her clothed shoulders and down her arms. He carefully sat down on the edge of the bed, watching her to make sure the shift of the mattress had not disturbed her sleep. Her head turned to the side, exposing her long neck, but she made no other movement in response to his weight on the bed.
Continuing his innocent, gentle touches, Kakashi trailed his fingers down a wrist and across the hand that she had protectively placed on her rounded belly. Torn between the choice of invading her privacy and touching her beautiful middle or leaving before he accidentally woke her up, Kakashi was too caught up in his own internal debate to realize she had shifted again in her sleep.
Long, strong fingers wrapped around his wrist, making his decision for him as they pressed his palm flatly against her midsection. Kakashi stared at his gloved hand in wide-eyed wonder as he felt something shift under his touch. It took him an embarrassingly long time to realize it was the baby he felt moving.
Unable to help himself, Kakashi grinned like a fool.
Brushing his thumb back and forth against her belly, Kakashi sent out a tendril of chakra to the little being that was shifting under his large hand. The response Kakashi received nearly knocked him to the floor.
Love. There was no other word for the sensation that hit him as he focused his energy on the baby. It took him another moment to realize that the feeling had come from the unborn child that was moving around again. Having done a similar study on Kurenai's child when she was still pregnant – much to his friend's annoyance – Kakashi had discovered years ago that he was able to tap into an unborn baby's emotions. It was one that floored him when he first realized what he had done with Asuma's offspring, but that shock was nothing compared to the myriad of emotions hitting him now.
Even though the child was not born yet, it loved its mother more than anything and it was so content and happy. Kakashi had rarely met born humans who had such bright and powerful emotions. In that moment, he made a decision. Gingerly pulling his hand out of the brunette's grasp, Kakashi bit down on his thumb until he tasted the metallic tang of blood.
Careful not to drip blood anywhere, he gently pulled her black shirt up over her round belly, exposing tanned skin that was nearly stretched to its limits. For a moment, Kakashi hesitantly touched her bare flesh, his fingers trailing along the few stretch marks at her sides.
Feeling the baby move underneath his fingertips, Kakashi smiled. Taking a moment to decide on exactly what to write, he finally started trailing his bleeding thumb across the brunette's abdomen, forming complex characters that only another master of seals would recognize.
Lifting his thumb up from the final spiral, Kakashi looked down at his handiwork. Though he doubted the woman would ever have need for it, he felt better giving what little protection he could. The reddish marks, quickly drying against tan skin, were ones that would allow the brunette to pull chakra from him if she ever required it. His energy, his strength – it was all hers for the taking if her body ever saw a need for such things. It did not matter the physical distance between them; this way, Kakashi could be certain that, even when he was on missions, she and her unborn child were safe.
Wiping the last of his blood off on his pant leg, Kakashi studied the woman in a mixture of longing and amazement. He had been watching her whenever possible, but today was the first time she had ever shown pain or exhaustion enough for the jounin to worry. Worry – that must have been what possessed him to break into Sasuke's apartment in order to watch her sleep. Kakashi chuckled, unable to imagine what was going through the Uchiha's head right now when Sasuke had told him he was not allowed to go near the brunette. Was the raven-haired man thinking of ways to kill him or where to hide the body? Or did something change and Sasuke now did not mind if he stopped by every now and again so long as the brunette teacher was unconscious for the visits?
Taking a deep breath, Kakashi glanced down at her belly. Seeing that the last of the characters had dried so that they could no longer smudge, he gently pulled her shirt back down to cover her middle. Not wanting to try his luck – or test Sasuke's patience – any longer, Kakashi knew he had to leave. But before he got off the bed, he leaned forwards and brushed masked lips against the woman's exposed neck.
She shifted, turning her head towards him so quickly Kakashi did not have time to move away before her lips came in contact with his own. Despite the thin layer of material separating them, that innocent touch sent a shiver of desire down his back. His body had always ached to hold her since he had started shadowing her, but at the moment, he wanted nothing more than to litter her body in kisses, then slowly make passionate love to her.
"'Kashi…"
Kakashi snapped back when he heard the soft whisper of air that permeated his mask, warming his lips. Pulling away so quickly from the woman that he nearly fell off of the bed in his moment of shock, Kakashi scrambled to regain a fraction of his composure. Whatever attempts he made of returning his breathing and heart rate to normal were lost when he looked into her face and saw that she was still asleep.
She was beautiful. It was a statement Kakashi could never think of disagreeing with, but now – with the smile that graced her sleeping face – she was something much more than beautiful. The genius could not think of a word that adequately described her. Radiant, ethereal – she was so much more than simple words could explain. Feeling a tightening in his chest, Kakashi started to shift off of the bed, but his ears caught something that made him freeze.
"Stay, 'Kashi." Though muffled by sleep, the meaning was not lost on Kakashi as he brought a hand up to cup her cheek. Even if it was her talking in her sleep, Kakashi could not deny her unconscious request any more than he could stop his heart from beating.
Pulling a blanket up to her neck to keep her warm, Kakashi laid out on the bed on top of the dark coverlet. Stretching out, his head resting back on her pillow while his feet dangled off the bottom of the bed, the jounin found himself drifting off. He was still conscious enough to be aware of his surroundings, but fell into a restful haze. He could feel the woman now rolling over in her sleep so that she was flush against him, her large belly resting on top of his abdomen. One arm, after a few moments of struggling with the blankets, came to rest across his chest, her hand pressing against his breast.
Relaxing underneath and against her warmth, Kakashi snaked an arm underneath her neck, shifting so that her head was comfortably resting on his shoulder. His other hand instinctively came to rest on her belly and that was where it remained so that Kakashi could feel the smallest movements of the baby.
He had never cuddled with a bed partner – much less a pregnant one – but Kakashi had to admit that this was the most comfortable he had been in years. Closing his natural eye, he dozed off for a short while, knowing that when he woke up, he would have to leave for his newest mission. He wished he was not assigned a long mission, but since Sasuke and Naruto were taking an extended leave, other jounin were forced to pick up the slack. By drawing straws, Kakashi got stuck with the mission that would last into the new year.
He did not want to leave, especially when it meant he would be gone for a large part of the remainder of her pregnancy, but he had no choice. Though he would have to keep his distance, he still wanted to be around for her final months. Even if she did not know he watched over her constantly, he would feel better being close by if she needed anything. At least with the seal he put on her, she would be strong and healthy in the last months of her pregnancy.
It was the least he could do for the woman he was falling in love with.
XXX
Iruka stretched his arms up over his head as he slowly woke up from the greatest nap of his life. For the first time in seven months, he actually felt well-rested. His body didn't ache, his head wasn't throbbing, his back wasn't screaming – it was heaven! Sliding out of bed, the teacher was amazed at how easy it was to get up. Usually it was a battle against gravity where the physical force usually won more often than not, but now he had the energy to all but jump off the bed.
With a quick glance to the alarm clock next to his bed, Iruka all but squealed in joy. For the first time since he found out about his miraculous pregnancy, he had slept through a night! Whatever the reason for his wonderful night's sleep, Iruka could only hope that it would hold out for the next few months.
Moving this way and that as he started walking towards the bedroom door, Iruka felt like a new man. Seeing his reflection as he passed by the room's only mirror, he laughed. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to say he felt like a new
woman. Raising his hands to his face, he had no difficulty dispelling part of his henge. Peering into the mirror and seeing his masculine face looking back at him, Iruka snorted. He had been so tired when he got home, he had somehow forgotten not only to remove the gender transforming henge, but also to wash all of his makeup off before falling asleep.
Studying his reflection for a moment, Iruka furrowed his eyebrows, trying to remember if he had taken off his kunai and shuriken pouches, jacket, and hitai-ate. He was certain he didn't, but they all sat neatly piled on the top of his dresser. Iruka shook his head – Sasuke must have come in and done it for him, not wanting him to prod and poke himself because he was too lazy to remove his weapons.
Remembering that he currently looked like a bad drag queen, Iruka shook off any more thoughts of his removed articles of clothing, and made his way to the bathroom where he relieved his constantly squashed bladder before taking a quick shower. Paying so much attention to washing his face so that none of his makeup remained, the teacher didn't notice the dark marks across his belly or how, as water ran down his body, the water took on a pink tinge for a few seconds. By the time Iruka was sure he had washed away the last of his makeup, no visible trace of his seal remained.
XXX
Iruka let out a sigh as he slowly made his way up the stairs after getting a glass of water from the kitchen. He had not had as much problem moving even after Mizuki had attacked him all those years ago. Apparently a few pounds to his middle did horrible things to his center of gravity – not to mention his overall fitness! Unconsciously, one of his hands gently touched his rounded stomach. His once well-defined abdominals were a thing of the past, as were his narrow waist and hips. But, strangely, he could care less about his figure. No, the only thing that mattered was what Tsunade told him today during his check up.
Perfectly healthy, he repeated in his head as he smiled broadly. The Hokage had shown him images of the little parasite, revealing ten fingers and ten toes. The baby already was quite long for its gestational age, which made Tsunade suspicious. She wondered out loud if the other father was tall; Iruka could only blush and bite his tongue before he said anything about his child's infamous, unemotional, lanky father. No, Tsunade would be nearly as bad as Naruto in hunting Kakashi down and making him do something the jounin would most certainly regret.
Iruka had always thought that he would one day adopt a child after having fallen in love with a man who, like him, loved children and wanted to start a family. He never imagined he would be beginning a family on his own. It had never even crossed his mind to think that he would be going through pregnancy all by himself.
Iruka could not believe that he was already thirty one weeks along. Just a little over a month and a half and he would be holding his child. Thirty one weeks ago, he was a normal chuunin teaching at the academy. Now, he was a pregnant man who masqueraded around as a woman whenever he was in public. Thirty one weeks ago, he had Naruto and Sasuke as his only family – and that was all he thought he would ever want or need. Now? Now he had a perfect, healthy unborn child who he loved more than anything else in the world. He had somehow accomplished his dream of having a big family without even falling in love with the man of his dreams.
It was all so surreal.
There was no other way to put it. Iruka could not believe how lucky he had been so far. A pregnancy that should have, naturally, never been possible. A healthy baby that should have never existed. Two younger brothers who loved him dearly, who both had defied the odds and survived their painful and lonely childhoods in order to find one another.
But Iruka felt a moment of sheer selfishness. Despite all the wonderful things he had been blessed with, he still was left wanting. His near-perfect life was lacking one very specific thing that Iruka had always thought would be the easiest part of his dreams for the future. It was not a
what that he lacked, but a
who.
He wanted Kakashi. He could not even say he missed the jounin – how could he when he had no idea who Kakashi was? All he knew about Kakashi were the rumors surrounding him. He was an orphan who lost his father dishonorably. He had been trained by the Yondaime and lost his own genin teammates at a young age. He was a genius who sailed through the shinobi ranks long before any child should even know how to hold a knife. He was a very secretive person, not even letting the people he considered to be his friends into his life. No one was ever invited to his apartment unless it was for sex and, even then, they were not there for more than a few hours. He would sleep with anything that moved, but he never had a lasting relationship, nor did he ever express a desire for one.
Kakashi physically hid behind his mysterious mask, but there was more to it than that. He refused to reveal his emotions if he was in control of himself. Everything he did and said was emotionless. His voice, his actions, his entire body showed
nothing other than that he was the perfect shinobi. He never showed sadness, anger, or hatred. He was never happy. Oh, he let a glimmer of his emotions slip by just so that people knew he was human, but even that felt unnatural.
Iruka closed his eyes as he reached the top of the stairs. Breathing heavily after exerting himself by walking up the stairs, he furrowed his eyebrows as he attempted to think of a single time he could remember Kakashi behaving like a normal person. But in all the years they had interacted in the Mission Office, the Copy Ninja was nothing other than annoying in his perverse attitude that seemed just as forced as everything else about him. He never snapped and yelled when he came in bloody, exhausted, and withdrawn because he did not fill out a mission report properly. He never laughed when one of his friends made some stupid joke to lighten the mood.
No one seemed to know Kakashi at all. He was simply the infamous Copy Ninja Hatake Kakashi, as though his very name described every facet of his personality. But how could a name explain the man who had taken on a troubled trio of genin students, teaching them to be the closest of comrades and friends? How could a title reveal the man who was revered for his loyalty, intellect, and honor? How could those few words possibly begin to encompass the man who could be so passionate that Iruka had forgotten who they were for that one glorious day? Most importantly, however, would a man like that be a good father?
If anyone could tell Iruka who Kakashi was, it would be those three young adults who knew him best. The three children who had, apparently, become the jounin's entire world for the years they had banded together as a team. Most of all, the last Uchiha had forged a particularly close bond with his ex-sensei. How could he not when they trained together for years? How could he possibly miss cues to Kakashi's real personality when they used to go out for drinks all the time? But, despite Sasuke's attempts to hide it, Iruka knew that that had all ended abruptly when Sasuke found out about Iruka and Kakashi's convoluted relationship.
Before he realized where his feet were taking him, Iruka found himself in front of Naruto and Sasuke's bedroom door. About ready to knock gently, Iruka snapped out of his thoughts and pulled his hand back as though it had been burned by the mere thought of touching the door. He could easily wake Sasuke up with a light rap of his knuckles. Unlike his blonde lover, Sasuke woke up easily. Of course, with Iruka's luck, if he knocked, it would be the one time Naruto was awake.
With his demon-enhanced hearing, Naruto would hear the knock and no amount of lying would make him believe that everything was fine. He would want to know exactly why Iruka ended up knocking on their bedroom door at two in the morning. And Iruka was starting to get to the point, he was not sure if it was worth keeping Naruto in the dark anymore. If Naruto knew about his feelings, would he somehow be able to help?
Iruka stepped back from the door, knowing that he couldn't tell Naruto about his child's other father. Not just yet. He had far too many things to work out for himself before he could even consider telling his little brother the truth. About to walk back to his own room for another restless night of sleep as he lay alone in his bed, Iruka froze when he saw his brother's bedroom door open. Sasuke slipped out without making a single sound and started walking down the hallway to Iruka's room.
Curious, Iruka followed his brother and, once they reached his room, Sasuke shut the door behind them. Now, hopefully out of hearing distance of his sleeping lover, the jounin spoke, "What's wrong, Iruka?"
"I couldn't sleep," Iruka replied truthfully, not sure if he was ready to tell Sasuke how lonely he was. He and the Uchiha had become close in the past seven months, but this was the first time Iruka was not sure if he wanted the young man to know what he was thinking about. Sasuke had all but dissolved his friendship with Kakashi when he found out about their night together. What would he do if he found out Iruka somehow developed feelings for a man who didn't care for him at all?
If Kakashi cared, he would not have told Iruka to get rid of their baby. He would have not been so stubborn in refusing that it was his child. If he felt anything for Iruka or their unborn child, he would have realized his mistake and apologized. But he had not done any of those things. The last time Iruka had seen Kakashi was when he told the Copy Ninja about their child.
That single thought made Iruka's eyes water as he recalled something that he rarely thought about in the last seven months. Kakashi did not know who he was. Kakashi had slept with a woman who did not exist and, for all he knew, she was the one carrying his child. He had no idea that Iruka was the one going through the most unique pregnancy in Konoha's history. He knew nothing about Iruka's fears, his pain, his illnesses. Kakashi knew nothing at all.
"Give him time; he'll come around. It just takes Kakashi a little while to get used to change," Sasuke stated wisely, somehow knowing that his genin sensei was the reason Iruka could not sleep. Recalling how a few weeks ago, Kakashi had broken in just so that he could watch Iruka sleep, he knew that something in his teacher's twisted mind was finally clicking into place. Somehow, Kakashi had come to the conclusion he was being an ass and had started, in his own, convoluted way, trying to correct his mistakes. He was just not yet prepared to face Iruka while the brunet was conscious. Having seen Iruka's capricious temperament, which had only turned more unpredictable since he became pregnant, Sasuke could understand Kakashi's hesitancy all too well.
Knowing a bit of what was going through his old teacher's mind, however, did not give Sasuke the strength to tell Iruka what had happened while he slept that one day. What if he had judged things wrong? What if Kakashi did not mean to patch things up with the pre-genin teacher? It could just be another one of Kakashi's sick jokes or attempts to relieve his own boredom. The more he thought about it, the less assured Sasuke was in his teacher's motives.
"Time..." Iruka sighed softly as he moved to sit down on his bed. Thankfully, Sasuke never mocked him for his difficult battle with gravity. Had Naruto been standing there, he would have become hysterical with Iruka's attempt to sit on the edge of the bed. Sasuke, on the other hand, only moved to help Iruka down, then take his place right next to him.
"I don't have that much time. The baby is due in less than two months. If Kakashi was planning on doing something, wouldn't he have done so by now?" Iruka asked quietly, but Sasuke had no answer for him. The jounin merely shrugged his shoulders as he stared down at the floor with a dark expression that Iruka could not hope to read. Unable to stop the tears, Iruka blinked his eyes rapidly in hopes of keeping his tears from falling.
So focused on fighting the urge to cry uncontrollably, Iruka didn't realize Sasuke had shifted until the quiet Uchiha pulled him into his arms. With such care that it seemed impossible those arms were those of a trained killer, Sasuke held him as the tears finally fell.
XXX
Iruka woke up slowly, reluctant to open his eyes and go through another day of painful loneliness. He laid still, curling up against the warmth that seemed to surround him. Something firm rested beneath his head and rounded belly and, if it had not been for the difference in softness, he would have assumed he had just once again woken up only to realize he was cuddling with his body pillow. Curious, Iruka roused himself fully from sleep. Blinking as the bright morning light filtered into his eyes, he yawned adorably and very nearly flew out of the bed when he heard a rumbling voice brush his ear.
"Good morning." Iruka fought the delicious shiver that ran down his back in response to that deep, masculine voice. Still slightly foggy from sleep, he could almost believe it was Kakashi's voice that filtered into his ears. Blinking slowly as he tilted his head back, the red of the Sharingan that he was met with very nearly confirmed Iruka's first wish. The pale skin, the tall, warm body, those strong arms and gentle fingers brushing against his back soothingly – it was all so familiar that Iruka was almost convinced. What ruined Iruka's wonderful hallucination was the other eye that matched the first.
Slowly, it started making sense in Iruka's mind. When it finally hit him that he was snuggling up to one of the two surviving Sharingan wielders – and the wrong one at that – Iruka jerked backwards and blushed furiously as he realized he must have cuddled with Sasuke throughout the night. The jounin, however, did not appear uncomfortable with Iruka's snuggling. If anything, there was amusement in Sasuke's swirling eyes.
"Is there a reason you have the Sharingan activated?" Iruka asked curiously as he sat up in the bed, one hand instinctively going to his belly. The baby pressed a foot against his palm, in what had become a normal morning greeting in the past few weeks. Iruka could not stop himself from smiling at that contact.
Sasuke remained silent in response to Iruka's question. How could he explain to Iruka that he had stayed up the entire night, protecting his beloved adopted brother in the only way he knew how? Somehow, however, some of his concern must have shown in his eyes, because Iruka leaned down and kissed his cheek. Finally getting a blush out of the pale-skinned man, Iruka sat back with a satisfied smirk on his face.
"Thank you for staying with me last night, Sasuke," Iruka said, infinitely grateful for Sasuke and Naruto. Studying the brother he had never expected to adopt into his life, Iruka could see the changes in Sasuke. Over seven months had made Sasuke a much more content person: someone who smiled at his lover's horrible jokes, was willing to simply cuddle up with Iruka in the middle of the night and comfort him when he needed it.
Sasuke grunted in response, reverting back to his childhood silence when he was not comfortable with his own emotions. Iruka could only smile at the young man's grunting and find it as adorable as the blush that still stained Sasuke's cheeks. As though the baby could feel his good humor, it kicked vigorously, which only caused Iruka to laugh at the strange feeling.
Without even having to ask, Iruka knew Sasuke was curious about his laugher. The jounin's raised eyebrow and flickering gaze was more than enough of an indicator. Grabbing the Uchiha's hand, Iruka set his brother's fingers against his abdomen and watched Sasuke's face. He could feel the baby shift around, as though it knew someone else other than its father was feeling Iruka's belly, and start pushing one of its tiny feet against Sasuke's hand.
Sasuke's eyes widened and, the jounin was so focused on the baby underneath his fingers, he could not control the smirk that came to his face. Iruka watched the young man's reaction in silence, able to detect the love shining in his red eyes. After several moments of silence, Sasuke pulled his gaze from his own hand and looked at Iruka.
"She is going to be a powerful kunoichi," the jounin stated, which Iruka knew to be the highest compliment Sasuke would ever freely give. Smiling at Sasuke's words, the teacher rested a hand over Sasuke's, holding the jounin's fingers against his round belly.
"Of course she will be with such wonderful uncles to train her," Iruka replied, for the moment not arguing with Sasuke's choice in gender. As Sasuke lapsed back into silence, Iruka for the first time caught a glimpse of something far from the love, concern, or other emotions Sasuke showed him whenever they were alone. For once, Iruka could see a glimmer of longing.
Iruka understood that longing far too well. He had lived nearly his entire life believing he would be alone, that eventually Naruto would find someone and leave him. He had never thought he would become a father, but it had always been his deepest dream and, as he looked at Sasuke, he saw that he was not the only one who had that desire. Then again, Sasuke had never made it a secret that he had wanted to continue the Uchiha line, but he had not once brought that up since he and Naruto fell in love.
"If you and Naruto ever want...I mean...if you decide to...erm..." Iruka flushed, scratching at his scar nervously. How could he offer his own unique abilities to his two brothers if they ever decided to reproduce? If this pregnancy was successful and he had a beautiful, healthy child in two months, Iruka knew Sasuke would always, in some dark part of his heart that not even Naruto could reach, desire the same kind of life.
Tsunade said his henge was one-of-a-kind and could not be taught. Iruka had discovered that fact after fighting his blonde sibling to the ground when Naruto came home dejected one day. He had forced the jounin to tell him what was wrong and, when Naruto finally cracked under Iruka's masterful mixture of brotherly concern, hormonal tears, and throbbing veins, Iruka's heart went out to his two brothers. Naruto had shown their Hokage his Sexy no jutsu without talking to Sasuke or Iruka beforehand. He had apparently wanted to find out if he could one day give his seme the one thing Sasuke thought he could never have. But Tsunade's results had been less than promising.
Iruka held Sasuke's hand against his belly, his eyes trained on the upturn of Sasuke's lips. If he was the only man who could accomplish such a feat, he would happily give Sasuke and Naruto a family of their own. It was the least he could do for two of the most important people in his life.
XXX
Sasuke brushed his fingers against Iruka's forehead, tucking strands of loose hair behind one of the teacher's ears. Careful not to wake the napping man, Sasuke shifted to ease the numbness in his legs. Iruka had fallen asleep over an hour ago, his head somehow falling into the jounin's lap. So comfortable in Iruka's presence, Sasuke did not realize until he finished his newest
Icha Icha novel that Iruka's head had somehow slipped from his shoulder to his lap.
He could not wake Iruka. He now knew how restless Iruka's nights were, having slept in the same bed as him last night. No, the teacher needed all the rest he could get and, thankfully, Christmas break had already started at the academy, so Iruka could catch up on all that sleep.
Sighing quietly, Sasuke stretched slowly and placed his book and glasses on the coffee table. Carefully, he eased back and returned to brushing his fingers idly through Iruka's soft hair. Lulled by his own soothing touches, Sasuke closed his eyes and rested his head back. All too soon, he felt his lover's massive chakra fill the room. Fighting the smile that threatened to show on his face, Sasuke recalled Naruto's mockery of him this morning. Apparently, upon waking up without Sasuke in the bed, Naruto went off in search of him and found him cuddling with Iruka. Though Naruto had not hinted at it, Sasuke knew his lover well enough to know that the blonde had snapped quite a few pictures as he and Iruka lay sleeping in the teacher's bed. Opening his eyes, Sasuke trained his gaze on Naruto.
The blonde man snickered softly enough that it would not wake Iruka up. Gracefully, he moved across the room and pecked his lover on the cheek. "If it was anyone other than Iruka with his head in your lap, I'd rip his heart out," Naruto whispered into Sasuke's ear. The possessive growl that accompanied such a jealous comment reminded the Uchiha just what kind of creature he had mated with. It was not often the Kyuubi revealed herself in her normally bouncy container, but when she did...
Recalling the last time the demon showed herself and the wild sex binge he and Naruto had gone on, Sasuke felt a delicious shiver go down his back. The slow, satisfied grin that came to Naruto's face was one that only undid him even more, promising hours of uninhibited pleasure while Iruka slept. Sasuke eased Iruka's head off of his lap and slid off the couch. Placing a pillow under Iruka's head, he took a final glimpse at the teacher before his lover dragged him off towards their bedroom.
If they had stayed just a few moments longer, they would have heard the soft whimper come out of Iruka's mouth. They would have seen the single tear leak out of closed eyes as Iruka softly spoke in his sleep, his voice muffled by sleep and a pillow he dreamed was his lover's warm chest. "I love you...'Kashi..."
